Mayor Mark Mallory and 3CDC representatives were scheduled
to kick off a grand opening celebration of Washington Park at 10 a.m. this
morning. The $48 million renovation includes an underground parking
garage, concession building, dog park and concert space. A rally against
the renovation and displacement of residents was scheduled for 10:30
a.m. CityBeat’s Mike Breen blogged away yesterday about the park’s
scheduled weekly music series.

But I think any Christian should spend much time in
prayer before refusing to vote for a family man with high morals,
business experience, who is against abortion, and shares Christian
conviction concerning homosexuality just because he is a Mormon.

Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name is
casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama — a man who
sat in Jeremiah Wright’s church for years, did not hold a public
ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer, and is a liberal who
supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage.

I hope all Christians give their vote prayerful consideration because voting is a sacred privilege and a serious responsibility.

The final ratification of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact came Oct. 3 when President Bush signed the joint resolution of Congress. The law is now on the books, even though some in Ohio who support Issue 3 – the constitutional amendment to guarantee property owners the right to reasonable use of their land (see my news article "No One Owns
Water") – claim passage is needed to enact the law.

“The compact provides a comprehensive management framework for achieving sustainable water use and resource protection,” according to a pres release from the Council of Great Lakes Governors. “The eight Great Lakes states reached a similar good faith, agreement with Ontario and Québec in 2005, which the provinces are using to amend their existing water programs for
greater regional consistency.”

The compact includes the following points:

Economic development will be fostered through
sustainable use and responsible management of basin waters.

In
general, there will be a ban on new diversions of water from the basin but
limited exceptions could be allowed in communities near the basin when
rigorous standards are met.

Communities that apply for an exception will have a
clear, predictable decision making process, standards to be met and,
opportunities to appeal decisions. These processes and standards do not
exist under current law.

The
states will use a consistent standard to review proposed uses of basin
water. The states will have flexibility regarding their water management
programs and how to apply this standard.

Regional
goals and objectives for water conservation and efficiency will be
developed, and they will be reviewed every five years. Each state will
develop and implement a water conservation and efficiency program that may
be voluntary or mandatory.

There is a strong commitment to continued public
involvement in the implementation of the compact.

Remember when car manufacturers balked at the idea of making cars that would get – gasp – 30 miles to the gallon? Innovation was forced on the automobile industry because they were content to remain with the status quo, regardless of consequences. Reliance on coal and other fossil fuels is the current equivalent to status-quo complacency and Ohio ranks at the top, or bottom, of the list of a dangerous status quo – coal ash.

New coal plants proposed for Ohio will rank the Buckeye state the eighth highest polluter because of the plants would add 3, 711,616 tons of new coal ash waste.

“According to a new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the 15 states that would be the biggest polluters — the “Filthy 15”— have proposals for 54 coal plants and would create nearly 14 million tons of dangerous waste,” says a press release from the council. “Proposed coal plants across the United States would produce nearly 18 million tons of dangerous waste, including toxic metals, each year. Nearly 130 million tons of coal waste from existing plants is being produced annually, most of which is disposed of in largely unregulated landfills, ponds and other locations, posing serious public health and environmental risks.”

In conjunction with the new analysis, NRDC has released a new Web site that includes a state-by-state breakdown of the total amount annually of waste, including toxic metals, from existing and proposed plants. Go to: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/coalwaste.

Others with the distinction of being included in the Filty 15 are, in order, Texas, South Dakota, Florida, Nevada, Montana, Illinois, South Carolina, Ohio, Wyoming, Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin, Georgia and West Virginia.

“Coal waste poses a large and unnecessary risk to people’s health and the environment, and we need to act before another Kingston disaster strikes,” says Peter Lehner, executive director of NRDC, “The EPA took a big step forward this week by announcing it will regulate coal ash, but they need to quickly examine how coal waste is handled and ensure proper management and disposal are in place at all new plants.”

The EPA recently announced it will finally begin to regulate coal ash. The action is too late for Kingston, Tennessee where 1 billion gallons of coal ash contained in a storage pond flowed through a breach in the walls into local waterways in December 2008. However, many states currently allow coal waste to be dumped, without oversight, into poorly constructed ponds, landfills and even abandoned mines.

“There are cleaner, safer and more sustainable energy choices available,” said Lehner. “America should be moving toward energy efficiency and renewable energy sources that will drive our economic recovery and meet the challenges of the 21st Century.”

The EPA identified 24 sites in 13 states that are known or suspected to be contaminated by coal ash. Toxic metals—like arsenic, mercury, lead, and other toxic substances – are frequently found in coal waste. Serious public health risks to people, especially children, include cancer, birth defects, reproductive problems, damage to the nervous system and kidneys, and learning disabilities.

Take a few moments to visit the Web site and learn about the impact these proposed coal power plants will have. Then write to your state representatives and demand that alternative and safer forms of energy be found – force innovation with your voice!

Actress Ashley Judd — who grew up in Kentucky, is a high-profile UK sports fan and supports progressive political causes — appears today at 5 p.m. to do a Q&A on the topic of mountaintop removal on the DailyKos web site. Go here to join the conversation.

Margo Pierce wrote a news story ("Leveling Appalachia") in last week's CityBeat about Ohio Citizen Action's effort to end the horrors of blowing up mountains in Kentucky, West Virginia and elsewhere to find coal deposits.

The Pleasant Ridge Community Council wil get words of advice and inspiration tonight from environmental activist Lois Gibbs, who was instrumental in the fight to clean up Love Canal in New York during the 1970s.

Gibbs will speak to the group at 7 p.m. at the Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church.

The audio for the 911 call Councilmember Chris Seelbach made to report being assaulted has been released to the public. During the call, Seelbach admits to drinking alcohol that night. Apparently, people are shocked that Seelbach is a human being that drinks alcohol.

City Council voted yesterday to put a ballot initiative before voters that, if approved, would let councilmembers remain in power for four years, up from two years under current law. The initiative would let local policymakers worry more about passing good policy and less about getting reelected every other year.

City Council also approved an ordinance that bans wastewater injection wells, which are used to dispose of wastewater produced during fracking, within city limits. But the ordinance is little more than politics at this point, considering the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has received no permit requests for injection wells in southwestern Ohio, and ODNR spokesperson Heidi Hetzel-Evans says southwestern Ohio’s geology makes injection wells unfeasible.

There are more benefits to legalizing same-sex marriage than just giving a bunch of people basic rights without hurting anyone. A new study found that Ohio could gain $100-126 million in economic growth from same-sex marriage legalization. The study is being used by Freedom to Marry Ohio to promote the Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment, which the organization hopes will be on the November 2013 ballot.

Comair Inc. disclosed that 1,194 employees will be losing their jobs when the airline halts operations on Sept. 29. The airline, which is owned by Delta, is headquartered at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Mayor Mark Mallory and local attorney Stan Chesley announced yesterday that 10 Cincinnati pools will remain open for one whole extra week — keeping them open until the beginning of the school year. Since the city can’t pay for the entire extra week, Chesley raised $25,000, which the Cincinnati Recreation Foundation matched with another $25,000, to keep the pools open. All pools but one will also have free admission for the rest of the year. The one exception is Otto Armleader Pool at Dunham, which will have $2 admission, down from $5.

In a surprising show of bipartisanship, the Ohio legislature and Gov. John Kasich passed the “second chance” law. The law will make it easier for convicted criminals to continue on with their lives after their time is served.

President Barack Obama was in Akron yesterday.Glenn Beck says he is planning a big event in Ohio for the week of Sept. 12. Beck is known for literally crying on national television and disapproving of most of what Obama does.

Earth Day is coming – April 22 – and the new Metro hybrid bus will bring models to the Earth Day “Eco Go-Go Fashion Show” on Fountain Square. At12 p.m. “environmentally-conscious and bike-beautiful fashions” will demonstrate a new “green” style.

A group of Greenpeace protesters face burglary and vandalism charges after a stunt yesterday on
the Procter & Gamble buildings. Protesters apparently teamed up with a helicopter to climb
outside the P&G buildings to hang up a large sign criticizing the
company for allegedly enabling the destruction of rainforests in
Indonesia by working with an irresponsible palm oil supplier. P&G
officials say they are looking into the protesters’ claims, but they
already committed to changing how they obtain palm oil by 2015.

Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) will step in
to resolve the status of a downtown grocery and apartment tower
project. The previous city administration pushed the project as a means
to bring more residential space downtown, but Mayor John Cranley refuses
to pay to move a tenant in the parking garage that needs to be torn
down as part of the project. Following Cranley and Councilman Chris Seelbach’s request for 3CDC’s help, the development agency will recommend a
path forward and outline costs to the city should it not complete the
project.

Meanwhile, the tenants in the dispute announced today that
they will sue the city to force action and stop the uncertainty
surrounding their salon business.

Cranley insists politics were not involved in an
appointment to the Cincinnati Board of Health, contrary to complaints
from the board official the mayor opted to replace. Cranley will replace
Joyce Kinley, whose term expired at the end of the month, with Herschel
Chalk. “Herschel Chalk, who(m) I’m appointing, has been a long-time
advocate against prostate cancer, who's somebody I’ve gotten to know,”
Cranley told WVXU. “I was impressed by him because of his advocacy on behalf
of fighting cancer. I committed to appoint him a long time ago.”

The costs for pausing the streetcar project back in
December remain unknown, but city officials are already looking into
what the next phase of the project would cost.

A new study released by the oil and gas industry claims
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been overestimating
methane emissions from natural gas and fracking, but environmental
groups have dismissed the study as “fatally flawed” and “biased.”

The study, released by the American Petroleum Institute
(API) and America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), claims methane
emissions given off during natural gas production are as low as half of
what the EPA is estimating. The study arrived just in time for a June 19
congressional hearing in which industry officials are testifying in
defense of natural gas production and fracking, a relatively new
drilling process that involves pumping thousands of gallons of water
underground to break up shale formations in order to release natural gas
and oil.

The nonprofit environmental group Physicians, Scientists,
and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE) has questioned the methodology
behind the study. One criticism is that the study only covers 20 out of
hundreds of oil and gas operators. This makes the study “statistically
invalid,” according to Anthony Ingraffea, a professor of engineering at
Cornell University and a member of PSE.

Ingraffea also says questions for the study were framed
poorly. In one example, he pointed out that the study gave
survey-takers, which work within the oil and gas industry, EPA estimates
of methane emissions. Given the industry’s interest in making sure
methane emissions are low, this could have “coached” survey-takers into
giving lower estimates, according to Ingraffea.

Ingraffea says he would have preferred a study that
randomly samples a larger number of operators from all over the country
with more objective questions. That, he says, would have produced much
more credible results.

Ingraffea also emphasizes that the data from this study is
made up of estimates derived by mathematical equations, not any actual
measurements taken from the field.

“No one, with one exception, has actually gone out into the field and made measurements,” he says.

The one exception is a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that was published February in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
The NOAA study measured Colorado gas wells in an attempt to get more
accurate data than what the EPA and the industry have been providing.
The measurements showed methane emissions were at least twice as large
as what the EPA was previously estimating, leading NOAA researchers to
conclude the EPA is greatly underestimating emissions, a stark contrast
to the API/ANGA study.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and 10 other
individuals and organizations filed a letter today asking the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to strengthen its rules for
wastewater injection wells, which are used to dispose of wastewater
produced during fracking.

NRDC says the tougher regulations could
prevent more incidents like the earthquakes experienced in Youngstown,
Ohio around New Year’s Eve. The earthquakes were linked to wastewater
injection wells in the Youngstown area.

Tougher regulations could also prevent water contamination,
according to the letter. Recent investigations have found that
wastewater disposed in injection wells might be seeping through the ground
and leaking into the surface or contaminating nearby water sources. But Heidi Hetzel-Evans, spokesperson for ODNR, says regulators have not recorded any groundwater contamination from Class II injection wells in Ohio since ODNR took over the program in 1983.

In short, the NRDC letter says ODNR should make more
seismic and geological tests mandatory for injection wells. Under
current law, ODNR has to suggest more seismic and geological tests. If
they were mandatory, all operators would have to run the tests before a
wastewater injection well is approved. Along with this requirement, NRDC
also calls for more geologic information to be submitted with permit
requests.

The structure of injection wells is also a concern. In the letter, the organization calls for tougher injection well
standards that ensure the wells can withstand corrosive effects from
fluids deposited in injection wells and any hydraulic pressure
experienced during the dumping and storing process. With these
standards, it would be much more difficult for wastewater to leak
through the wells.

The letter includes additional recommendations that ask for clearer minimum standards, more water tests, checkups on wells, more protections for
landowners near injection wells, and more. The full recommendations can
be read in the letter here.

The call for more regulation is largely in response to new rules that Gov. John
Kasich signed in with an executive order on July 12. Hetzel-Evans defended the current rules by pointing out they are flexible yet often stronger than minimum requirements from the Environmental
Protection Agency.

Hetzel-Evans has not been able to see the full suggestions
in the letter yet, but she says one of the strengths of the current
rules is that they don’t burden operators with unnecessary tests. She
cited the example of some wells being way too shallow for earthquake
activity to be an issue. Seismic testings in those wells would serve no
purpose, she says.

Cincinnati City Council recently banned wastewater
injection wells within city limits. But ODNR has received no permit
requests for wastewater injection wells in southwestern Ohio.
Hetzel-Evans says southwestern Ohio’s geology makes any shale drilling
and wastewater injection wells unfeasible.